You’ve got male: Jimmy Choo’s decision to man up has proven a hit
Luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo unveiled profits more towering than one of its signature wedges today, with operating profits rising more than 40 per cent.
The figures
Jimmy Choo said revenues had grown 9.2 per cent at reported currency rates in the six months to the end of June, or 3.8 per cent at constant currency.
That pushed reported operating profit up 42.6 per cent to £25.3m. Not bad.
Retail sales rose 7.6 per cent at reported currency to £107.6m, while wholesale sales rose 10.6 per cent to £59.6m and its licensing arm grew 26 per cent to £6.2m.
And while revenues in Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 8.4 per cent to £73.8m, its biggest success story was Asia (excluding Japan), where revenues grew 22.1 per cent at reported currency, to £27.1m. However, sales fell 3.4 per cent to £50m in the US.
Shares were up 6.2 per cent at 125p in early trading.
Read more: Luxury brands must adapt to slower growth, warns Italian designer label
Why it's interesting
Luxury brands like Jimmy Choo are among the UK's most prolific exporters – who, after the result of the EU referendum, are having rather a nice time thanks to the weaker pound.
"Jimmy Choo is a global business, well placed to take advantage of market dynamics seen since the [pound's] devaluation," it said today.
It has 10 stores in the UK, which make up 6.6 per cent of global sales, while 9.5 per cent of global revenue is derived in sterling and 28 per cent of operating costs are pound-denominated.
"Hence a weaker [pound] will lead to a reported upside in business performance at a revenue and profit level," it said.
But Jimmy Choo's secret weapon is its new(ish) men's line, which it said today has continued to grow, and now represents eight per cent of global revenues.
"In total we have 71 dual gender stores globally and see the potential for continued growth in this sector, so that it will come to represent a proportion of our revenue well into double digits."
Lest we forget, Jimmy Choo narrowly avoided being kicked out of the FTSE 250 back in May – things seem to have looked up since then.
What Jimmy Choo said
Chief executive Pierre Denis said:
These results represent an excellent performance in the period, with growth and margin expansion leading to improved earnings, further enhancing the brand's track record of delivery in all market conditions.
This is combined with strong underlying cash flow conversion leading to further positive steps on deleveraging. We have made a good start to the second half and we remain optimistic about our prospects both for this year and for our performance in the future.
In short
The Brexit vote has had a positive effect on some of the UK's best-known exporters – and expanding into the male market has proven to be a wise choice.
[custom id="166"]